A host of issues, like civil nuclear cooperation, Iran and Afghanistan figured in talks between secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Indian envoy Nirupama Rao, with both agreeing to work for consolidating the “tremendous progress” made in boosting Indo-US strategic ties.
This was Ms Rao’s first meeting with Ms Clinton after the former foreign secretary assumed the top diplomatic position here late last year.
“They talked about maintaining the momentum in our bilateral relationship and our strategic dialogue,” state department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said at her daily news conference on Wednesday evening.
Ms Rao has already done a lot of travel around the United States and been to a lot of American universities, and she was able to give the secretary some flavour for that, Nuland said. “They also talked about the full range of bilateral issues, including the importance of our civil nuclear cooperation and our continued efforts to chart a way forward that’ll bring India the benefits of American nuclear technology,” she said.
“They talked about Afghanistan and the important role that India plays in supporting the new Silk Road Initiative, and private sector capacity building in Afghanistan,” Ms Nuland said, adding that they also discussed Burma.
Responding to questions, Ms Nuland said the two countries are still working through the legal and regulatory issues that the US has with India. Ms Clinton and Ms Rao also talked about Iran and how New Delhi and Washington can work together on the issue of US and EU sanctions against Tehran, Ms Nuland said. The US is urging India to decrease its dependence on Iranian oil, which New Delhi insists is very difficult to achieve. — PTI